A pseudo-legendary?
Chen Ran looked at Wen Xiaoke in surprise.
"Damn, Xiaoke, are you some kind of prophet? You even know that?"
The rewards for freshman military training were always kept strictly confidential.
Normally, no one found out until they were officially announced.
Just what kind of background did Wen Xiaoke have—to know even this?
Seeing the curiosity in Chen Ran's eyes, Wen Xiaoke smiled faintly.
"It's just gossip. That's all," she said casually. "I just don't know which pseudo-legendary it'll be."
"…."
Just gossip?
Chen Ran felt like Wen Xiaoke was clearly hiding something.
Unfortunately, he had no proof.
"If it's really a pseudo-legendary," Chen Ran muttered, "then the school is bleeding money this time."
He let out a slow breath, his heart unable to calm down.
Pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
No matter which region they came from, their combat power was overwhelmingly strong.
And more importantly—
They were priceless.
Each one was worth over 100 million.
Among top championship-level Trainer teams, having at least one pseudo-legendary was standard. Some even had two or three.
As for true Legendary Pokémon?
Heh.
Bring one out and you'd get beaten into the ground instantly.
"Listen, Chen Ran—don't tell anyone else."
Wen Xiaoke leaned closer, whispering into his ear. A faint floral fragrance brushed against him.
In the next second—
Chen Ran's ears turned red.
"I heard the school wants to curry favor with a Champion," Wen Xiaoke said softly.
"So they deliberately spent a fortune and used a pseudo-legendary as the top reward for the freshman military training."
"Otherwise, there's no way the school would be this generous."
Normally, first place only received a starter Pokémon.
Second through fifth weren't much better.
This time?
They were clearly going all in.
"Curry favor with a Champion?"
Chen Ran looked at her thoughtfully.
"Are you talking about Ye Feng? The guy who caused a sensation on the day school started—he's the son of the current Champion of the Dragon Kingdom, right?"
That scene was still fresh in Chen Ran's memory.
The Champion personally escorting his son to school had shocked the entire campus.
"Yeah, that's him."
Wen Xiaoke shrugged casually.
"My family said Ye Feng is extremely talented in battle. He's already tamed three Pokémon."
"Right now, his strength is already at the Elite Trainer level."
"Even in the entire university, he'd rank in the top ten—let alone among freshmen."
Elite Trainer?
Hearing that, Chen Ran nodded slowly.
"That makes sense. A Champion's son having privileges isn't surprising."
"With three Pokémon, he can basically sweep the freshman military training."
At Jiangnan Pokémon University, freshman military training involved field exploration.
Points were earned by defeating or subduing wild Pokémon.
Ranking was determined purely by points.
Everyone else had one newly hatched Pokémon—maybe two at most.
Ye Feng entering with three Pokémon was nothing short of dimensional suppression.
"Exactly."
Wen Xiaoke was also somewhat speechless, but she didn't look discouraged.
"To avoid public outrage, the school also increased the rewards for the top ten."
"Oh?"
Chen Ran didn't care much.
"My goal is first place. That pseudo-legendary."
Since the reward was clearly prepared for the Champion's son—
Its quality and potential went without saying.
Absolutely top-tier.
Chen Ran's determination to take first place grew even stronger.
"So what if he's the Champion's son?"
"I'm going to beat the Champion's son."
…
After stretching from their morning workout, Chen Ran suddenly realized—
Ma Gang, Wang Bo, and Chen Xiang were long gone.
They had quietly slipped away, leaving only Chen Ran and Wen Xiaoke behind.
That calculation was obvious to anyone on Mars.
"Let's go. I'll treat you to breakfast."
Chen Ran recalled Charmander and casually invited Wen Xiaoke.
Jiangnan Pokémon University was enormous.
There were eighteen cafeterias on campus, all offering special Pokémon meals to reduce the burden on novice Trainers.
At the nearest cafeteria, Chen Ran ordered:
A serving of boiled corn
Two tea eggs
A large cup of sugar-free soy milk
Health came first.
"That's all you're eating?"
Wen Xiaoke stared at his tray in confusion.
It looked… extremely vegetarian.
For a moment, her eyes softened with guilt.
She thought Chen Ran was saving money—cutting corners so he could invest more into training Charmander.
But in the next second—
That thought was completely overturned.
Chen Ran pulled out a fiery red crystal about the size of a quail egg and handed it to Charmander.
"Fire-type Energy Cube?!"
Wen Xiaoke's eyes widened.
"And that's at least an intermediate-grade one?!"
She wasn't exaggerating.
On the market, an intermediate Fire-type Energy Cube cost several thousand yuan—far beyond what ordinary families could afford.
Even she only fed Snivy low-grade energy cubes.
"So… Chen Ran is poor?"
"Poor my ass."
"…."
Chen Ran casually fed Charmander an intermediate energy cube.
For breakfast.
Way too extravagant.
At that moment, Wen Xiaoke felt like the real poor one.
"What's wrong?"
Chen Ran didn't think there was anything strange about it.
After all, these energy cubes cost him only a few yuan in the flash sale system.
And he'd bought them by the box.
Nine cubes per box.
Charmander was truly living the good life.
"Big spender—let's be friends!"
Wen Xiaoke blinked, suddenly adopting a cute, playful tone.
"Pfft—!"
Chen Ran instantly choked.
"Ahem—!"
He looked at her helplessly, his face red.
"What's wrong with you? Aren't we already friends?"
"…."
After calming down, Chen Ran rolled his eyes and changed the topic.
"By the way, is there a nearby secret realm suitable for novice Trainers?"
"I want to take Charmander there early, so he can adapt to the environment."
With only three days left before freshman military training—
Chen Ran planned to explore a secret realm in advance.
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